The Conversation

Do you know how to prepare for your digital life after death? CU Boulder’s student-run clinic has some advice

Written by Dylan Thomas Doyle, Information Science Researcher, University of Colorado Boulder

Older adults have large digital archives that can be hard to access after their deaths.picture alliance/Getty Images

From family photos in the cloud to email archives and social media accounts, the digital lives of Americans are extensive and growing.

According to recent studies by the password management companies NordPass and Dashlane, the...

How the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ positions US energy to be more costly for consumers and the climate

Written by Daniel Cohan, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University

Proposed revisions to U.S. energy policy would likely raise consumer prices and climate-warming emissions.zpagistock/Moment via Getty Images

When it comes to energy policy, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – the official name of a massive federal tax-cut and spending bill that House Republicans passed in May 2025 – risks...

For Trump’s ‘no taxes on tips,’ the devil is in the details

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor Questrom School of Business, Boston University

President Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate taxes on tips may sound like a windfall for service workers — but the fine print in Congress’ latest tax bill tells a more complex story.

Right now, Republican lawmakers are advancing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — a sprawling, 1,100-page proposal that aims to chan...

100 years ago, the Social Gospel movement pushed to improve workers’ lives – but also to promote its vision of Christian America

Written by Christina Littlefield, Associate Professor of Communication and Religion, Pepperdine University

Immigrant children from Central Europe at a settlement house in St. Louis.Thomasa.nagel/Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump has praised the Gilded Age, which he believes was a time of immense national prosperity thanks to tariffs, no income tax, and few regulations on business.

Similar to today, the late 19th century was a time where a small...

Trump–Xi call boosts Chinese president’s tough man image — and may have handed him the upper hand in future talks

Written by Linggong Kong, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Auburn University

Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the G20 Summit on July 7, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

On June 5, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It marked the first direct conversation between the two leaders since Trump began his second term — and the first since tensions...

Binge drinking brake found in mouse brains, offering future path to treating alcohol abuse – new research

Written by Gilles Martin, Associate Professor of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School

Millions of people abuse alcohol.South_agency/E+ via Getty Images

Despite the profound human, social and economic costs of alcohol abuse, existing treatments have failed to provide meaningful relief. Excessive alcohol consumption remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. In the U.S. alone, 16.4 million people age 12 and older...

Dismal ticket sales, grumblings from fans and clubs – is FIFA’s latest attempt to establish a global club game doomed before it starts?

Written by Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan

FIFA is hoping that Lionel Messi can draw the crowds.Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The FIFA World Club Cup, which kicks off in the U.S. on June 14, 2025, may seem like a new competition.

Certainly, soccer’s governing body, FIFA, is promoting it as is it were, marketing the monthlong competition between 32 of the world’s biggest soccer teams...

Ancient fossils show how the last mass extinction forever scrambled the ocean’s biodiversity

Written by Stewart Edie, Research Geologist and Curator of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution

Even bivalves looked different during the time of the dinosaurs, as these fossils of an ultra-fortified oyster, left, and armored cockle show.Smithsonian Institution

About 66 million years ago – perhaps on a downright unlucky day in May – an asteroid smashed into our planet.

The fallout was immediate and severe. Evidence shows that about...

Trump orders Marines to Los Angeles as protests escalate over immigration raids, demonstrating the president’s power to deploy troops on US soil

Written by William C. Banks, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration and International Affairs, Syracuse University

National Guard members watch protests in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

President Donald Trump ordered a contingent of about 700 Marines to Los Angeles on June 9, 2025, in response to what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as “increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and...

‘Who controls the present controls the past’: What Orwell’s ‘1984’ explains about the twisting of history to control the public

Written by Laura Beers, Professor of History, American University

George Orwell's '1984' has some lessons for 2025.NurPhoto/Corbis via Getty Images

When people use the term “Orwellian,” it’s not a good sign.

It usually characterizes an action, an individual or a society that is suppressing freedom, particularly the freedom of expression. It can also describe something perverted by tyrannical...